The following is a presentation of FCB Faith. This is Keeping America First with Bishop John T. Coats and Reverend Jeff Jamison on FCB Faith. Good morning. It's the holiday season and we're just excited about a lot of the things that are going on in the city of Cleveland. There are some great happenings taking place, and one of those places is the Cleveland Metro Parks. They always have so much activities, so many activities, and so many exciting things taking place. We're happy to have with us today just a very familiar person in the area and one who's just making sure that there's great programming going on, and that is none other than Kelly Manderfield and she is with the Cleveland metro Parks. Good morning, Kelly, how are you. Good morning, I'm doing great. Thanks so much for having me on today. Welcome to our show. And Kelly, can you just tell us a little bit about tell us who you are, your position, and then just jump right into it, tell us some of the great things that are going on. Sounds good. So yeah, my name is Kelly Vanderfield. I'm the chief Marketing officer at Cleveland Metro Parks, which includes Cleveland Metro Park Zoo. And so, just like you said, we have so much going on all year round, but particularly right now around the holidays. Our signature event is back for a sixth annual visit to us here at Cleveland Metro Parks Zoo. So we've transformed into a winter wonderland and each year the event gets bigger and better. So this year we're up to over a million and a half lights, and we've programmed a nice walk throughout the zoo. We've got different unique themed. Areas and we've got you know, one of the things I think that sets us apart from the other holiday shows is really large displays. Displays that guests can actually walk through. They're more immersive, perfect photo ops to capture that holiday memory with the family and friends if you're coming out as a group, and it's more than just seeing the lights, it's experiences as well. So we've got costume characters roaming throughout the event. You can get your photo with We've. Got Santa's Lodge and you can either get your photo professionally taken for purchase, or we allow you to just take it, you know, with your cell phone, whatever's easiest and convenient for you. And we've got our carousel running that's included with the event, and we've got a treckless train, so we do a nice little train loop around our lake that's all decorated out with lights and different set pieces. So it's truly a fun, memorable experience and it's something that we like to see as a tradition here. In this community. We continue to get great feedback and we want to keep bringing you back each year and keep building on the experience. And then if you're unable to join us at the zoo, we've got the chalet that will. Open up the day after Thanksgiving. And we've got the highest tallest, fastest toboggan shoots in northeast Ohio, so one hundred and fifty foot toboggan and shoot. And we have a lift now so you don't have to carry your sled back up to the top. We make it nice and easy for you. But just another beautiful way again to get out enjoying the parks. Obviously, we've still got all of our trails open year round, and so you know, people, we know that's the number one reason that our guests come out and enjoy the parks is to hike bike walk, the various trails, all purpose trails. Hiking trails, you name it. And so the. Best place to find out more information on all these activities is to log onto Cleveland Metroparks dot com. For the wild winn. Lights event that's presented by Nopak, we encourage you to get your. Tickets in advance. So that is a walkthrough Thursdays through Sundays, five thirty to nine thirty, and we have brought back the drive through experience as well, so that's on select Tuesdays and Wednesdays, but you can see the whole schedule through the holiday season through junior or December thirtieth, and get your tickets in advance. If you're just looking for a single ticket, we've got you know, discounted pricing. If you're a member, it's just twenty one dollars, and if you're bringing in a group or a family of four, sixty three dollars for members, seventy three for none. And again we've got great you know pricing for the drive through as well, and if you have it already, we do have a mobile app for Cleveland Metroparks that would encourage you to download that because again, if you're looking to get outdoors this winter holiday or to some of our program and events going on at the various nature centers. That's a great resource to help you navigate all that we have to offer. Would you say that these activities are mostly for children? A lot of adults say, well, I'm too old for that. Is this more or less geared towards children or adults as well? You know, we're really geared to all ages, and we encourage everyone to come out to the parks. You know, if you're under two, you get into for free to the zoo event, but a lot of our programming is free at the nature centers. And again, you know, I encourage you to go. Online, check out the mobile app. A lot of that has guides and parameters as to what the educational component is or the content and help you pick out something that. Sparks your interest. So we really cater to children of all ages. I know that tourism, Oh that's great. I know that tourism is really up in Cleveland and it's a great destination for families and just for people to take the short road trip. What would you say for folks that are kind of wonder is it worth it to go make it there to speak to that a little bit. Absolutely to Cleveland, you know, even Cleveland Metroparks. There's been a lot of you know, new trail connections to the various communities, especially to downtown with the Cleveland Lakefront Bikeway and just being able to walk, you know, down to the beaches, get access to our lakefront, see the beautiful skyline in the background. I think the lake Erie is. That natural asset that truly, you know, stands out for Cleveland. And in terms of the Zoo, you know, again, I think you'll find a. Lot of other holiday activities or light shows, but the one at the Zoo is truly magical. We've got a dynamic light show and there's truly something for everybody. And again it's it's an experience. So you know, whether you're a young child or a child at heart, I think that you'll find something that will spark that childhood memory and really meet the holidays special for you this season. I remember years back, I went to the chalet and I remember carrying the sled up and that was yeah, yeah that babe. Uh just just kind of lost my wind there, got a little winded. Do they still have hot chocolate there? And it's exciting to hear that there is a lift now so that you don't actually have to carry your own slid. Could you speak to that a little bit? Sure, Yeah, we a couple of years ago we were able to the team build the lift and that has been wildly successful with our guests and it allows them to go down you know, more times, more frequency and experiencing it. And absolutely we have places for you to come inside warm up. There's hot chocolate, other snacks and food items available for sale there, and it's just a nice spot. I mean, again, if the weather, if we start to see snow and things, there's a lot of places in the park system where you can get out and do some snowshoeing or some crust country skiing. So there's truly something for everybody. And I think, you know, it's just a which park is most interesting to you or convenient for you and then be able to get the events and activities that we have going on. The other activity I wanted to mention was golf. You know, the temperatures have been more temperate and we're seeing golf become almost a twelve months year round sport, and so we've still got you know guests coming out each and every day at our golf courses. We have nine in total spread throughout the northeast Ohio, and so we've got different skill levels, you know, whether you're looking for a championship course at Sleepy Hollow or Minnikiki, or we've got great courses for beginners as well. We've got a Part three over at Shawnee Hills. Seneca has been a course we've put a lot of investment improvement in over time. And we have Washington that's a learning facility as well that now offers some golf simulators. So a lot of different options if it's something you're interested in or interested in getting started. My language when you mentioned golf, So are you saying that the golf courses are open year round? Yeah, the majority of them remain open year round if the weather, you know, if we're seeing a lot of snow, some of them are also open for the snowshoeing and cross country skiing as well, so they really get a lot of usage. Okay, that's awesome, Kelly Manderfield, thank you for joining with us today. Enjoy the holidays and we're going to be getting back with you. Want to hear continuously what's going on with the Cleveland Metro Parks. Thank you again, Kelly, and thank you to our audience for being with us again today. All right, thank you and we hope to see you out of the parks. Absolutely thanks you.
